“It is clear that if and when the Ka’ena Corporation closes, a majority of the MVNO market as it was before 2021 will have fallen into the hands of the national carriers.”
https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/independent-mvnos-disappear-scene-moore
And there are those of us that still remember/miss actual hardware stores 
@cbwahlstrom said:
It is clear that if and when the Kaena Corporation closes, a majority of the MVNO market as it was before 2021 will have fallen into the hands of the national carriers.
Allowing Verizon to swallow the TracFone brands alone makes the above quote accurate. The acquisition of the other brands mentioned in the article are comparatively unimportant in terms of the overall market. Further, as of yet, DISH Wireless is not a serious competitor to AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon.
There has been some mumbling the DOJ will take a closer look at the proposed acquisition of Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile and Plum by T-Mobile. Whether the DOJ would sue to block the acquisition or such a suit would succeed is questionable. They haven’t made making the case any easier by signing off on previous acquisitions.
Interestingly, the linked article fails to mention the Cablecos. While not true independents, they are independent of the national MNOs and are adding subscribers hand over fist.
Meanwhile, there are still some smaller MVNOs trying to swim against the tide. Both Mobi and MobileX are doing something different by owning their own network cores in “the cloud”. I like Tello. US Mobile seems to be gaining some traction. Perhaps, it would be better for those of us who like doing business with smaller MVNOs if they continued to fly under the radar. 
@rolandh said:
Interestingly, the linked article fails to mention the Cablecos. While not true independents, they are independent of the national MNOs and are adding subscribers hand over fist.
That’s a good point. I live in a Spectrum area and they practically give away a whole year of cell service for free when you sign up for internet. Of course, they don’t say anywhere noticeable what the bill will be for the next year. At least I have not found it.
In my experience, it is not possible to find out from a cable company what the bill will be once the promotional rate runs out. I regularly get ads from the local cable companies trying to sell me on services I have no need of (anything other than internet connectivity, and what I do have is fast enough for me) and examining the documents from stem to stern reveals no clue as to what the non-promotional rate will be.
@mwgardiner said:
In my experience, it is not possible to find out from a cable company what the bill will be once the promotional rate runs out.
I believe the cablecos are required to post their standard rates online. I forgot which cable company it was, but I got so frustrated trying to find their rate card online that I called customer service and the rep showed me where it was online. Very well hidden.
@rolandh said:
Interestingly, the linked article fails to mention the Cablecos. While not true independents, they are independent of the national MNOs and are adding subscribers hand over fist.
I’m not sure what you mean by true independents. Spectrum is suppose to favor its own WiFi network but cell service is through the Verizon network. After moving my home phone to Spectrum’s cheap cell plan I haven’t noticed them using WiFi at all. Not that I mind. Since they are on another’s network wouldn’t that make them an MVNO?
Good Morning @old_engineer,
I’m talking about ownership. I define a “true” independent MVNO as one not owned by one of the MNOs (AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon). Examples of such MVNOs are Mobi, MobileX and Tello. Others such as Cricket, Metro and Visible are owned by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon respectively.
I don’t consider offerings such as Spectrum Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, etc. to be “true” independents like Mobi, MobileX and Tello because though not owned by one of the MNOs, they are owned by one of the large cablecos but it is, admittedly, only my definition.
Then, there’s DISH. In theory, DISH Wireless, LLC is also an MNO though it’s difficult at this point to consider DISH serious competition to the likes of AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon. In fairness, they do own their own partially operational “national” wireless network. Therefore, my definition of “true” independent no longer includes DISH owned brands RW, Boost Infinite, Boost Mobile, Gen Mobile or Ting Mobile.
None of the above is to say, one shouldn’t choose to do business with a cableco owned brand. It’s just not my preference.
@rolandh I get it now. That makes sense.
I wouldn’t have gone with a cable company normally but RW’s long term status is unknown. As I have no choice but to use Spectrum for my internet their cheap subscriber plan with a flip phone made sense compared to keeping Ooma’s premium plan for my home phone number. If it wasn’t for the fact that my home phone is spread all over the place as my primary contact I would have let the number go when I cancelled my Ooma service. I also like that Spectrum uses a different network than RW/AT&T which should give us better phone coverage when we travel.